If you’re anything like me, you will be the FIRST to admit you both love and loathe plot twists. Love, because who doesn’t like surprises of the intense heartbreak variety?! And loathe because… Well, intense heartbreaks are hard on the heart!
I’m here to tell you, it doesn’t have to be this way! Here are several (ingenious, if I do say myself) ways to read those soul-shattering moments like the badass we all know you are (way, waaaaay down deep inside, in my case).
Displace the Pain
Have a ton of rubber bands lying around?
Keep one on your wrist! Each time you sense heartache coming on, start snapping that sucker! Sure, you’ll still be crying when the scene reaches Zetus Lupeetus, drama-MAJOR levels (sorry, I’ve recently OD-ed on Zenon: Girl of the 21st Century)…but you can totes blame the welts for that, right?
Blare those Tunes
Think about it: hearts are like teeny, tiny, emotional robots.
If we confuse them, or overwhelm them, they shut down. Refuse to work. So grab your headphones, find your favorite country station, and blast the emotions out of orbit! Just…make sure you don’t damage your eardrums in the process.
Also, be warned: OD-ing on country music may lead to line dancing, strange vocabulary, and/or boot, scoot, ‘n’ boogying. Proceed with extreme caution!
Book it to Time Out
Until that hurtful, nasty book rewrites itself or apologizes, send it to the corner!
I mean, this always worked on me growing up…and books are basically children, right?! Ask ANY booknerd!
Of course, you MIGHT never finish a book again with this tactic, so there’s that.
Just Skip ‘Em!
Who needs to read the whole book, anyway?!
Just skip over EVERY chapter that even LOOKS like it could be painful. Problem solved!
How do YOU guys avoid plot-twist heartache? Would you ever try these ideas on for size? Feel free to let me know your thoughts in the comments!
Until next time, happy book-ing!
betwixt-the-pages 
Hahaha, I love these! I do the time out thing – I walk away as if when I get back it won’t be sad anymore… But why not just skip half the book? 😛
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I’m so so glad to hear you appreciate the advice here! I have also done the time out thing. Unfortunately, my books are as stubborn as I am and refuse to change. I guess they expect me to love them regardless of how much they hurt me, or something? XD
Thanks so much for stopping by! ❤
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Lol these are fun!! The music one would totally work. Who can be sad while listening to a super happy song??? Like I could never cry when Happy by Pharrell is playing!
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Right?! It just makes SO much sense to me. I mean…I’m not a fan of Happy by Pharrell personally, but there ARE happy songs out there I feel might do the trick! (or, if you’re a freak like me and use depressing music to cheer yourself up, then sad ones!)
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BAHHAHA TO “JUST SKIP ‘EM”. Of course! What could be better, right?! XD Although I confess that there was a book I adored when I was like 12 but my favourite character died in the end? So I’d always read up to the chapter before she died and then STOP READING THE BOOK. 😛 It worked??? Sort of??? Oh dear. XD
Thanks for stopping by @ Paper Fury!
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LOLOLOL I’m so glad you like the post. Also, that does sound like it works at least a little–if you could only forget the scarring moment in the first place while still maintaining your NOPE DO NOT READ status at the ending, you’d be set! Just rip those pages out, or something, and get selective amnesia! XD
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Lol, I LOVE this post! Whenever I reach a heartbreaking scene in books, I can’t really skip them or my brain will scream at me to read them. So I usually just do these weird gestures like moving my legs up and down or something just to ease the pain. xD HOPEFULLY I’M NOT THE ONLY ONE WHO DOES IT.
Or, when all else fails, I just stop reading, close the book, and stare at the wall for, like, an hour before I continue reading again.
Fun post, Beth!
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Hi, Mara! I am so glad to hear you enjoyed this post! I can’t “skip” scenes either, for the same reason as you, so I usually muddle through. It’s hard, though! I sometimes have to get up and walk away just to collect myself! XD
Thanks so so much for stopping by! ❤
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